Majority of
Missouri’s Hourly
Paid Workers Earn More than
State Minimum Wage
According to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 82.7 percent of Missouri's hourly paid workers earned $7.15 per hour or more in 2005. Nationally, 85.1 percent of hourly workers made $7.15 per hour or more.
Missouri had 1.6 million hourly paid workers in 2005, with 1.3 million earning $7.15 per hour or more. Fifty-six thousand or 3.5 percent of the hourly paid workers made at or below $5.15 per hour, the federal minimum wage level.
Alaska had the highest proportion of their hourly workers who earned $7.15 per hour or more, but they also had the fifth smallest number of hourly workers. Among the 26 states with at least 1 million hourly paid workers, California had the highest proportion (86.1%) making over $7.15 per hour or more.
Missouri increased its minimum wage level in January 2007 from $5.15 per hour to $6.50 per hour.
Washington has the highest minimum wage level at $7.93 per hour, followed by Oregon ($7.80), Connecticut ($7.65), Vermont ($7.53), and tied are Massachusetts and California at $7.50.
Fourteen states are at the federal minimum wage level of $5.15 per hour and five states (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota and Tennessee) have no state set minimum wage.
Seven states will increase their minimum wage level beginning in July of this year, with Illinois getting the biggest bump, at one dollar per hour on July 1 and increasing an additional 25 cents per hour each year until 2010. Future minimum wage increases in Missouri will be indexed annually according to inflation.
In Missouri, along with exemptions for federally covered employment, employees of a retail or service business with gross annual sales of less than $500,000 are exempted.
| Region |
Total hourly workers |
At or below $5.15 per hour | At or above $7.15 per hour | ||
| Number of workers paid hourly rates | Percent paid hourly rates | Number of workers paid hourly rates | Percent paid hourly rates | ||
| 75,609,000 | 1,882,000 | 2.5 | 64,356,000 | 85.1 | |
| Alabama | 1,152,000 | 36,000 | 3.1 | 926,000 | 80.4 |
| 192,000 | 1,000 | 0.5 | 185,000 | 96.1 | |
| 1,396,000 | 47,000 | 3.4 | 1,183,000 | 84.8 | |
| 700,000 | 25,000 | 3.6 | 561,000 | 80.1 | |
| 8,846,000 | 82,000 | 0.9 | 7,620,000 | 86.1 | |
| Colorado | 1,131,000 | 34,000 | 3 | 1,007,000 | 89 |
| 892,000 | 9,000 | 1 | 825,000 | 92.5 | |
| 219,000 | 4,000 | 1.8 | 193,000 | 88 | |
| 10,000 | 2,000 | 1.8 | 99,000 | 90.6 | |
| Florida | 4,404,000 | 117,000 | 2.7 | 3,714,000 | 84.3 |
| 2,060,000 | 66,000 | 3.2 | 1,767,000 | 85.8 | |
| 341,000 | 4,000 | 1.2 | 297,000 | 87 | |
| Idaho | 415,000 | 12,000 | 2.9 | 340,000 | 81.8 |
| Illinois | 3,207,000 | 77,000 | 2.4 | 2,726,000 | 85 |
| Indiana | 1,794,000 | 37,000 | 2.1 | 1,571,000 | 87.6 |
| 922,000 | 20,000 | 2.2 | 786,000 | 85.2 | |
| 770,000 | 27,000 | 3.5 | 636,000 | 82.6 | |
| 1,120,000 | 35,000 | 3.1 | 946,000 | 84.5 | |
| 1,109,000 | 42,000 | 3.8 | 857,000 | 77.2 | |
| 409,000 | 8,000 | 2 | 365,000 | 89.1 | |
| 1,318,000 | 28,000 | 2.1 | 1,162,000 | 88.2 | |
| 1,666,000 | 31,000 | 1.9 | 1,496,000 | 89.8 | |
| 2,869,000 | 88,000 | 3.1 | 2,443,000 | 85.2 | |
| 1,593,000 | 29,000 | 1.8 | 1,415,000 | 88.8 | |
| 664,000 | 23,000 | 3.5 | 534,000 | 80.4 | |
| 1,613,000 | 56,000 | 3.5 | 1,333,000 | 82.7 | |
| 278,000 | 6,000 | 2.2 | 224,000 | 80.5 | |
| 544,000 | 17,000 | 3.1 | 469,000 | 86.2 | |
| 684,000 | 19,000 | 2.8 | 587,000 | 85.7 | |
| 377,000 | 11,000 | 2.9 | 340,000 | 90.2 | |
| 1,922,000 | 40,000 | 2.1 | 1,677,000 | 87.2 | |
| 505,000 | 18,000 | 3.6 | 406,000 | 80.4 | |
| 4,186,000 | 95,000 | 2.3 | 3,532,000 | 84.4 | |
| 2,176,000 | 58,000 | 2.7 | 1,856,000 | 85.3 | |
| 183,000 | 4,000 | 2.2 | 150,000 | 82.2 | |
| 3,403,000 | 111,000 | 3.3 | 2,890,000 | 84.9 | |
| 841,000 | 36,000 | 4.3 | 676,000 | 80.3 | |
| Oregon | 959,000 | 10,000 | 1 | 910,000 | 94.9 |
| 3,340,000 | 97,000 | 2.9 | 2,844,000 | 85.2 | |
| 309,000 | 8,000 | 2.6 | 268,000 | 86.8 | |
| 1,073,000 | 34,000 | 3.2 | 884,000 | 82.4 | |
| 240,000 | 9,000 | 3.8 | 205,000 | 85.2 | |
| 1,506,000 | 51,000 | 3.4 | 1,260,000 | 83.6 | |
| 5,467,000 | 176,000 | 3.2 | 4,300,000 | 78.7 | |
| Utah | 677,000 | 16,000 | 2.4 | 565,000 | 83.4 |
| 182,000 | 3,000 | 1.6 | 165,000 | 91 | |
| 1,753,000 | 60,000 | 3.4 | 1,487,000 | 84.8 | |
| 1,733,000 | 10,000 | 0.6 | 1,638,000 | 94.5 | |
| 466,000 | 20,000 | 4.3 | 369,000 | 79.3 | |
| 1,743,000 | 27,000 | 1.5 | 1,544,000 | 88.6 | |
| 150,000 | 4,000 | 2.7 | 125,000 | 82.9 | |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
